summary: It's a Good Time to Be an Entrepreneur – Over the past decade, technology has leveled the playing field and inspired an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have greater access to information that enables you to make smarter choices and more quickly. You have an advantage over larger businesses in that you are lighter, more flexible and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can even turn a dime.
But being a successful entrepreneur...
It's a Good Time to Be an Entrepreneur – Over the past decade, technology has leveled the playing field and inspired an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have greater access to information that enables you to make smarter choices and more quickly. You have an advantage over larger businesses in that you are lighter, more flexible and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can even turn a dime.
But to be a successful entrepreneur it is essential that you look at the big picture and follow a plan from start to finish. Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief Riva Lesansky offers some practical guidelines that can help you start your own venture:
1. Don't quit your day job.
Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it's online while you're working and have a steady income. It usually takes six months to a year for a business to run, and you don't want your ability to pay off your house to depend on your company being an overnight success. Start with what you can manage financially and timely, and expand as your business grows.
2. Find your niche.
The days of general stores are over. Especially online, consumers are looking for stores that specialize. You have to find a need—something that a specific group of people want but can't find at the big chain stores—and fill it. "You can't compete with the big guys, so you have to figure out where the big guys aren't and go in your niche," advises Lesonsky.
3. Have an online presence.
Even if you don't plan to start an online retail business, consider that the Internet can still play an important role in your company. Having an online presence eliminates the limitations of physical location and expands your customer base to, literally, millions. It's a great tool for promoting yourself and letting people, even those in your own field, know you're out there, and what you're doing.
4. Refusal to leave.
Successful entrepreneurship requires creativity, energy, and a drive to keep going when you fail. Very few people know that before Bill Gates created the hugely successful Microsoft 3.0, he created a Microsoft 1.0 and 2.0, both of which flopped—but he persisted. And that determination and refusal to give up is what will separate successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones. Lessonsky says, "Brace yourself with optimism to say 'no' or to get ahead of trouble. There's nothing wrong with failure—just don't repeat the same mistake!"
Posts
0 Comments